1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention broadly relates to waxed dental textile materials. In one of its more specific variants, the invention is concerned with the application of a fluorine-containing wax coating to dental textile materials which provides fluoride ion to inhibit the formation of dental caries. The invention further relates to the waxed dental textile material of the invention and the use thereof in inhibiting the formation of dental caries.
2. The Prior Art
Bacterial action on food deposits tends to cause disintegration and erosion of the dental surfaces and soreness and softening of the gums. This is especially pronounced in the more susceptible decay and inflammation areas such as the contact points of the teeth and at or immediately below the gingiva. Dental caries are one result of such bacterial action, and inflammation of the gingiva in another.
Dental aids such as floss and tape have been used extensively heretofore for periodically removing food deposits from the teeth and gingiva. The prior art dental floss and tape may be waxed or unwaxed, and it may be prepared from multi-strand textile materials such as nylon or cotton. However, the prior art waxed dental floss or tape was not provided with an entirely satisfactory wax coating which contained a substance effective to inhibit the formation of dental caries. As a result, while the prior art dental floss and tape performed the basic function of removing existing food deposits, it was not capable of preventing future food deposits from causing dental caries through fermentation and bacterial action prior to removal. Thus, the dental art has long sought an entirely satisfactory waxed dental tape which is capable of not only removing food deposits from teeth and the gingiva, but which is also capable of effectively inhibiting the tendency toward future formation of dental caries.